GOP governor vetoes voter ID bills

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed voter ID bills that his fellow Republicans call an attempt to crack down on voter fraud, and critics characterize as a move to disenfranchise minority groups.

Snyder on Tuesday rejected H.B. 5061 and S.B. 803 — both sponsored by Republican members of the Michigan Legislature – which would have required voters to prove U.S. citizenship in order to receive a ballot and a photo ID to pick up an absentee ballot.

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The governor said that while he “appreciates the issue of ensuring voters are eligible and U.S. citizens,” the measures could create “voter confusion among absentee voters.”

State Rep. Brad Jacobsen, who sponsored H.B. 5061, and state Sen. Darwin Booher, sponsor of S.B. 803, both said they were “disappointed” by Snyder’s veto.

“I introduced this bill to reduce election fraud and make sure every vote is fairly counted,” Jacobsen said. “Like the governor, I don’t want to create any confusion in the upcoming election.”

“All that my measure required was for registered voters to answer whether they are U.S. citizens before being allowed to vote. It is a common-sense solution that corrects the problem of noncitizens voting,” Booher said. “Governor Snyder has missed an opportunity today to protect the integrity of our elections process.”

The third bill Snyder vetoed was S.B. 754, which would have required training for those involved in voter registration. The governor said he feared the new training would muddle ongoing voter registration efforts.

Snyder on Tuesday did sign a package of 11 other election bills that were proposed by Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. “These reforms will make a good election system even better by adding appropriate safeguards and improving transparency,” the governor said.